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Tuesday, November 22, 2016

Adopt aviation model for investigating police involved shootings

Two former aviators whose sons were killed by police, propose an interesting idea on investigating police involved shootings at Constitution.com.

Here is an excerpt:

In aviation, an independent team of National Transportation
Safety Board (NTSB) experts diligently gathers evidence after an accident,
analyzes data and facts, and issues nonbinding recommendations designed to
prevent similar incidents from reoccurring. As a result of . . . taxiway
accident[s], the NTSB recommended new protocols be established to improve
pilot-controller communications and signage along taxi routes. They even
suggested introducing unambiguous terms such as “back taxi” into radio transmissions,
to ensure aviators have a better mind-picture of the airfield environment.

In law enforcement, there is no centralized “external
learning system” that gathers data and analyzes the facts associated with a
deadly incident, then issues preventive safety recommendations.

Consequently, Americans are dying at an ever-increasing rate
through encounters with police. In 2015, at least 1,209 people were killed by
police officers. As of early November, 992 people have died this year
(killedbypolice.net). According to PoliceOne.com,
it is estimated that roughly 25% of officer-involved shootings concern
mistake-of-fact scenarios . . . Indeed, the authors’ sons
were killed by frightened, amped-up police officers who made deadly mistakes.
Those senseless tragedies drove us to become vocal advocates for systemic
improvements in how police-involved deaths are investigated. Hopefully, these
will prevent future senseless shootings.

About Matt

An analysis of crime and punishment from the perspective of a former prosecutor and current criminal justice practitioner.
The views expressed on this blog are solely those of the author and do not reflect the opinions or postions of any county, state or federal agency.